Pot Dispensary Workers Question What Legal Rights They Have

She knows it’s illegal. She knows it’s not a licensed medical service. She knows that, by working there, she risks being caught up in police raids and armed robberies.

Sarah, who asked for her name to be changed for fear of being fired, is a self-described “bud-tender,” a $13-per-hour shift worker on the front lines of Toronto’s illegal marijuana industry.

The job was an easy paycheque when she badly needed one. After months behind the counter at Canna Clinic in Kensington Market, Sarah has amassed a litany of complaints, from sexual harassment by customers to fears of police raids and armed robberies.

But the unlawful nature of the dispensary business has Sarah wondering what her workplace rights are and what recourse, if any, is available to her when management lets her down.

Canna Clinic operates seven dispensaries in Toronto and six in British Columbia.

Its website described the company as “Canada’s leading provider of medical cannabis products and accessories.”

Canna Clinic is not, however, one of the 38 marijuana producers licensed by Health Canada. Nor are any of Toronto’s other storefront pot sellers.